Category Archives: maintenance

So I stumbled across this rather cool video that George Farmer did for Tropica and wanted to share. We’re often asked about maintaining a tank and what to do and what not to do, and there’s nothing like a video to demonstrate this.

A few things I picked up on:

Notice how George hovers over the substrate – not plunging it. This keeps it clean enough.

Use a toothbrush to keep the edges clean, the water line and the bottom of the tank where the substrate meets the glass. A toothbrush is unobtrusive and won’t stir your substrate up.

Once he has trimmed the plants, he uses a net to remove the bits that float to the surface and siphons off any plants that haven’t floated anywhere. He also uses his finger to disturb the mosses where debris can get trapped.

Lots of freshwater shrimp. I could see a combo of amano shrimp and crystal reds. No pro scaper will have a tank without shrimp, yet I know many of you DO NOT have shrimp yet you wonder why you have algae…

Clean water goes back into the tank via a sieve. This is a great tip that avoids causing disturbance. Also notice how much water was changed (about 50%). Are you changing enough?

So you see this equipment does not need to cost the earth. Folllow George’s guide and you won’t go far wrong.

Everyone dreams of having a big planted aquarium one day. Just think of what you could do, the choices you would have, the plants you would grow. Just think about the impact it would have. Truly wonderful right?!

But have you ever guessed how long it would take to manage a huge tank? Maybe a few hours a week? Maybe more…

Not only that but the tools you would need to have for maintenance. For eg, most tools like scissors are about 30cm long, but what would you do if the tank was over 100cm? How would you trim those foreground plants? Sure you could put on a mask and dive in, but it’s not really practical. So have a look at the clip below and see how the pros maintain a tank which is truly jumbo in size